Acceptance & Realization
by thegiantflyingchicken
Summary: Melchior is trying to help his friend Moritz. He finds out more than he bargained for. Also, Moritz finds out some things that people will probably never know about his friend Melchior.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Going to use some modern language here, so giving you a fair warning. I'm writing this because I got inspired by reading this other Spring Awakening story and I loved the story. Don't criticize me for my lack of sentence structure. I'm so freakin' inexperienced and I like to be creative with writing and nothing else. Part of the credit to Arquette for helping me giving ideas. And I'm sorry if the stories are similar. But, please enjoy this story. _

Chapter 1

It was cloudy. Rain was about to come down to the country and people were already preparing to find way to keep dry and have the children getting away from getting the cold. People were walking home as the rain was going to come down. One person who ignored all of this was Moritz. He didn't want to go home at all. He felt like there was no place to call his sanctuary, his place where he can just relax and be himself. As the rain fell, Moritz walked through the town, looking down at the mud and his shoes. He kept thinking to himself, "why am I here? Is there a point for me to live anymore?" He was walking, aimlessly, until he heard a familiar voice shout out, "Moritz! Get inside! You're going to get sick!" It was Melchior. Moritz didn't want to turn his head and see his face. It looked like Moritz was afraid of something or feeling ashamed. He ignored Melchior to go in and tried to walk away. But Melchior, ran outside and said, "Moritz, wait," stopping Moritz's path to nowhere. Moritz kept silent and continued to look down. "Listen to me, you need to come inside." Moritz was still feeling gloomy, but slowly agreed to come inside.

They went to Melchior's room, Moritz sat down on his bed, and Melchior sat in his chair by his desk. Melchior looked at Moritz as if there was something wrong. Not like the way when he would usually see him sad. No, this was different. He tried to say something, but his mouth decided to blurb out, "Is there anything wrong, Moritz?" Moritz was staring at Melchior's journal, like in a distracting way. Moritz then replied, "That book, it's not Gunta, isn't it?" Melchior was confused but realized, he was talking about his journal. He was tried to figure out what his friend was trying to say. Did he really want to know about Melchior and his beliefs? Did he want to know about anything that's in his mind? He thought this in his mind, thinking if he tells any of his passages; it could damage his friendship with Moritz. He plainly replied, "No. It is not." Moritz asked, "Then what is it?" Melchior tried to say this in a humorous way, "You don't want to know." He chuckled, but then realized, his friend was actually serious. He came out and spoke the truth, "It's a journal. I use it so I can tell what I think."

"What do you mean?" Moritz asked confusedly.

"Never mind," Melchior said. He was kind of frustrated on his friend attitude. Why he is so damn depressed and why does it look like it might be the lowest point of his life? So he asked again, "is anything okay?" Moritz was still looking at his journal trying to find out what thoughts are in his mind. He was gazing at the notebook and looked at the window. He stood up, approached the window, and watched the raindrops fall. As he was looking out the window he replied, "I'm fine." Melchior knew he was lying. He could tell by his body language. Slumped shoulders, head down, droopy eyes, a mouth that doesn't have the urge to smile, and retaining one emotion all the time. Melchior stood up and walked to the window, trying to find out what's really wrong with his friend that he cares about. "Moritz, you're lying. I can see it. Now, tell me the truth, what is wrong?" Moritz was looking straight at Melchior and then suddenly tears came out of his eyes. Moritz was crying and Melchior was comforting him.

"Melchi, something has gone terribly wrong. It turns out that Fraulein and Herr Sonnenstich aren't allowing me back at school. I've failed, Melchi. I've failed." He was crying and then Melchior was hugging him to comfort him and stop the tears. He knew that he wasn't saying entirely enough. There was one thing that was wrong. Melchior then asked, "Does your family know about this?" Then Moritz cried even bad, but tried to keep it together to tell him what happened. He said, "My father does. I told him. He told me that I was a failure and a disgrace to the family. Then he hit me both with his hands and his belt." He cried again and then recognized the newly formed bruises on the back of his arms.

"I don't want to go home, Melchi. Not with my father around. Wonder what if he would do if I came into the home and he saw me." Melchior was coming up with some kind of plan to keep him safe from his father. Melchior knew all about his father. How much when he drinks he ends up beating up his son even when he sobers up, how much he strives for perfection in his family, and tells his family that he cannot condone with failures in his home. He hated his father. He came up with an idea and told him, "Stay here, tonight and your family won't know. Your father probably doesn't want you there anyway. It will be fine here and you'll be safe for tonight." Moritz agreed and then continued to look at the raindrops outside the window. Melchior was going to the dining room to get him and Moritz some food and then he heard, "Thank you, Melchi." From his friend.

* * *

At night, Melchior was with his father and mother talking about Moritz while he was sleeping in Melchior's room. Melchior was arguing about his friend's father on how he keeps on mistreating him and abusing him. But the parents were just being parents and said, "He's doing his job as a father." Melchior was shocked. Did he come to wonder that being a father meant hitting and intimidating your own children? He definitely disagreed with that. His parents didn't do one bit of what Moritz's father does. Then he complained on how why his parents are strict on him and his parents said, "All parents have different perspectives on how to raise their child." Melchior then stormed off out of the dining hall really frustrated and angry. Then as he went to his room, he was surprised. The window was open, a candle was lit, Melchior's journal was open, and most importantly, Moritz was gone. He was trying to look for him inside of the home but then came across his journal with a passage that he did not write.

To my friend Melchior,

I write to you about what has happened today. I already feel like you have done enough for me and I know when it's enough. But I have a confession. During classes, I fantasize about being with other boys. And now with thinking of these fantasies, I think our friendship should cease to exist. I wanted to find another way but there is none. With time that will help me realize a solution,

Moritz Stiefel

It was a letter from Moritz. Melchior was reading this and felt absolutely heartbroken. Did his friend abandon not only the house leaving him alone and depressed still, but also abandon his friendship? Melchior felt useless and depressed like the way his friend felt most of his life. He wanted to do something to help him because he finally knew what was wrong, what his friend craved for than anything his life. Acceptance.

* * *

At school, it was absolute torture for Moritz. He knew that he wouldn't be able to come back, so he had his spirit to try taken away. He slept through most of his classes and the teachers didn't even bother yelling at him. His classmates didn't know why he was acting like this. Otto asked, "Moritz, wake up. Herr Sonnenstich is going to be mad if you don't know the next 5 lines. He's already on your rear for forgetting the lines yesterday." Moritz apparently ignored Otto's words and just listened to what his classmates were saying when it was their turn to say their lines of Virgil. Then, the teacher called his name. He reluctantly stood up and fumbled with his part of the lines. The teacher yelled at him for forgetting and then hit him with a switch. Right after he got hit by the teacher, the bell rang. It was the final period. Moritz packed his stuff and then heard someone's voice, "Moritz, wait for me." Melchior said it. Moritz ignored him and tried to get out of the room first. He got out, with Melchior trying getting Moritz to talk to him. Moritz noticed that his friend was trying to talk to him, but he ignored him and got out of the south end of the school, where the forest was.

Moritz was entering the woods, trying to lose Melchior from his path. But, Melchior went into the woods and yelled, "Moritz? Where are you!? I really need to talk to you!" Silence. Moritz was hiding behind a tree right behind where Melchior was standing. "Fine. If you're not here, I'm going to say it anyway. Listen to me, Moritz, I think you're a good person, with just a sad soul. I don't think you're weird or unusual at all. I don't look at you that way. I think you're a normal person." Then Melchior heard a crack of a branch. He looked behind him and saw Moritz behind a tree.

"What are you doing there?" Melchior asked.

"Hiding." Moritz replied. He was feeling better. If he thought that he would hear the worst from his friend. Instead, he heard what he wished to hear from at least someone. "You're a good friend, Melchi. Thank you." They were getting out of the woods, talking.

"Why were you thinking that our friendship was going to end? Only for your preferences? You're thinking way too much."

"You don't know, Melchi. I-I'm really confused here. I-I mean there's a lot of things in my life that I do not know about and want to learn about." He revealed the essay Melchior wrote. "Remember this? This is the paper that changed my life forever."

"Changed your life?" He grabbed the essay in frustration and anger clenching his hand without the essay into a fist, "does this mean that _this_ was the reason that you're depressed and sad all the time? Was it this that made you who you are right now? With a family that shunned you, teachers who hate you, and friends that can't understand your internal feelings?" He assumed this and out of spite and anger, he ripped the essay and ate bits and pieces of it. He fell down on his knees and cried. He thought that it was his fault for changing his life. He thought that his intentions were only to help him, not to hurt him. He thought that by writing the essay would just give him the understanding of the human anatomy.

Moritz was witnessing this. For once, he saw this person, who was strong on the inside and the outside, become vulnerable and show his emotions no longer in his journal but now in public. For once, the roles have switched. Moritz wanted to help Melchior get a hold of himself. He, being instead of depressed and gloomy, became caring and postitive for other people. He went down on his knees trying to talk to his friend. For once in his life, he was going to help someone.

"Hey, Melchi. It's okay. You don't have to be like this." He felt a little bit uncomfortable trying to talk to Melchior since he has never gave advice to his friend who used to give him advice. "Listen, Melchi," he went a little bit closer to Melchior if he was actually listening, "that essay wasn't the only reason that changed my life forever. It gave me an understanding on how it works. I-I mean, the essay didn't only hinder me, but it gave me a bigger realization on the way how it happens. The way how when you love someone, you can finally give in and let heaven get the best over you. What I'm trying to say, is that, I want to thank you."

Melchior, whose head was on ground, was now looking at Moritz. Tears were still coming from his eyes and his eyes were red. He thought he ruined his life. But now, he realized that his actions both helped and hurt (slightly) him. Some of his face was covered in dirt and Moritz wiped some of it off with his jacket.

"You got some mud on your face. Better wipe that off before your Mama gets mad." They laughed. Melchior finally saw a smile from Moritz even though part of his face was still muddy. "And why are you crying? It's not your fault, remember that." He wiped the remainder of the mud on one of his sleeves, then wiped Melchior's tears on the other. For once in their lives, they thought that the stress in their lives was gone for that day. They realized that part of their lives have become part of each other.

"Look at this," Melchior said. He revealed his journal. "This book has documented all my feelings and my thoughts, and you were right. It isn't Gunta. It's something better. So, I believe right now, that you should have it." He handed the journal.

"B-but Melchi, I-I can't. It's too much. I don't think that I'm worthy enough to have that. I mean, that book is almost like the Bible. It contains messages and feelings that no man has ever understood, and when people read it, they can't understand it."

"But we can." Melchior was trying to urge Moritz to take it. Moritz took a look at it and then reluctantly took the journal. He opened the journal, flipped through some of his pages, and then came across his passage. He looked at it, and then looked at Melchior. Melchior nodded, and then Moritz nodded. He closed the journal with a smile on his face. Melchior smiled too. Then they hugged both of them felt a sigh of relief. They released from the hug, and then walked out of the woods, walking together to go to Melchior house to talk. They thought that their friendship was deteriorating, but then it came out even stronger than ever.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Going to use some modern language here, so giving you a fair warning. I don't own Spring Awakening in any way, shape, or form. Credits to Arquette and Prosopopeya for giving me some ideas for the story. And also, special thanks to my twin sister (she told me to say that.) for helping me with ideas for this chapter. And also, if you say my sentence structure is bad, I already know.**_

It is night. The moon is shining down on the town and candles are lit inside families homes. Inside one of these houses are Moritz and Melchior. They're setting up the table getting ready for dinner. Melchior's parents welcomed Moritz to stay since Frau Gabor knew what happened to Moritz and his family. Melchior's mother was cooking in the kitchen and his father was still working. Moritz and Melchior put the utensils on the table in proper order: knife, fork, and then spoon. They couldn't stop thinking what happened in the woods. They noticed each other's flaws and their strong points. "Thank you for your mother for allowing me to stay. It's very kind of her." Moritz said courteously. "No, it's okay. Anyways, I wouldn't let you go and face the wrath of your father." Melchior, being nice to him. It's the first time that Moritz was actually away from his parents. He could now relax because there would be no ridicule and abuse from his father anymore. When he was setting the table, he was smiling the whole time. Then suddenly, Melchior poked him with a fork saying, "Engarde Stiefel. For it is I that will take over now." He wanted to play pirates, just like when they were little and had no stress. Moritz grabbed a fork saying, "Nonsense, Gabor. You committed mutiny and you shall receive your punishment." They were being little kids again, chasing each other with their "swords", fighting each other, trying to corner each other; they were actually having a fun time. Then they were at the final stage when Melchior was on top of a chair, with his knife at Moritz's face. "Please don't," Moritz pleaded then he walked backwards and fell down. Melchior got off the chair then still drew his fork at the fallen Moritz (Like the pirate movies when a person falls down and someone is about to deliver the final blow) walking toward him. "I've got you now!" Melchior said with pride. "Please d-don't." Moritz said. Then Melchior's mother entered the living room and said, "Melchior, this is no time playing games. Finish setting the table." Then Melchior said, "But we already set up the table." Then Mrs. Gabor gave his son a smirk and then looked at the fork he was holding. "Oh." Melchior said stupidly. Then Mrs. Gabor went to the kitchen to work on dinner.

"Now, that the Supreme Officer is gone, I have finally got you." Melchior continuing on playing his game with Moritz. "Oh, really," Moritz said really thoughtful. He realized that one of his legs was under Melchior's foot, so he swept Melchior's foot and he fell down on his side and said with a with a little bit of pain, "Ow." Moritz, now got up and drew his fork at him saying, "Now, I got you now." Melchior, now being the person pleading said, "Please don't. I know I have done wrong, but I know you can forgive me." Then Moritz laughed and helped Melchior up. Melchior then laughed at the fact that, his friend actually beat him in pirates for once. They put their forks on the dinner table and went to Melchior's room. Inside, books and papers were all around his room. Moritz knew that his friend knew everything about the world and Melchior knew that Moritz wanted to learn all of those things. On Melchior's desk was his journal. Moritz took the journal and started to read some of its passages. Melchior sat down on his chair reading a book while Moritz was sitting on Melchior's bed reading the journal. Utter silence. You knew that these teenage boys were focused in on what they were reading. They were in the zone while they were reading. They felt like no one was there. _Oh, my god, _Moritz thought,_ is this what Melchi thinks when he writes in here? All these passages about love and obedience? I don't know how, but he's right about everything. Why can't the school tolerate students when they mess up at least once? Why can't parents become more loving and not more abusive? And especially, can two people of the same gender fall in love? _Moritz was thinking of all of this while he was reading the first 5 passages. Now, he began to think about all these problems and explore his own mind. He felt like he was thinking like his fellow friend, Melchior.

Melchior was reading something about love. It was about how even though you're not married that you can still express your love to a person and do what they wanted to. And then with that love, no one can stop it. You see, Melchior met this girl while he was at this thinking place named Wendla. They talked about how charity can give happiness and how with co-ed schools, education will be different and children's minds can be even better. _Why can't I find love like these people in this book? These people express their love in any way but I have to realize that it's not real. Think positive, Melchior. This girl who's so innocent reminds me of Wendla. We had a good time together when we were little. I hope that someday we'll find each other again and talk about our feelings again. And I also hope that Moritz will be fine and become a person that will forget about his past and think about the future. _Melchior was thinking this while reading the book. He came to wonder about Wendla and how he craved for her opinion on things. He determined that she was like no other girl than he ever knew. He became to know that she had a mind and she was not afraid to use it. He was also worried about his friend, Moritz. What will happen when he has to let go him and leave him alone to find himself? What will he do when he would feel all alone? Would he go back to his old ways? Or will he change for the better?

"This passage, Melchi, I-I don't get it." Moritz asked his friend. He was sounding confused on the passage. "Which one?" Melchior asked. "This one," Moritz showed. It was about shame. He remembered that day. When Moritz came to his house talking about his dreams and talking about sex. He smiled and then said trying to say in a professional manner, "Well in my opinion, shame is just a term for when people decide to love each other."

"Love? What do you mean, love?" Moritz asked.

"Well, if you let me finish, I was going to say that it's a term because they would feel mistaken for their relationship just because their hormones are telling them otherwise. They don't need to get married to love each other very much. All they need is trust. Trust, that they will love each other with their hearts and support them when people think they're weird."

"Now, you're sounding like Herr Sonnenstich." Moritz said, trying to be funny. Melchior said, "Well that was the point. Now, Moritz Stiefel." He tried to act like him by trying to be strict and Moritz playing along. Moritz stood up and said, "Sir," as like they were in Latin studying Virgil. Melchior was walking around Moritz saying, "Now! Start the lines of The Anieid, starting with (A/N: I can't spell Latin so I'm going to try to spell it has easy as I can) Letera multoon elay." Moritz spoke the lines, fumbled some lines, and Melchior gently hit him on the top of the head. "Okay. I think you've got him a little bit too much in your mind," Moritz said. They both laughed and heard the door. Melchior's father has come from work. They still laughed. Then the two of them heard Mrs. Gabor saying, "Children! Time for dinner!" They went out of the room and started to be on their way to the dining hall for dinner.

When they went downstairs, they heard Melchior's parents talking about Moritz and his family. "We have to do something with him. I'm not going to just hand him over to that father of his. He's just a child and that Faust needs to realize that Moritz needs family to feel comfortable and best of all, happy." Melchior and Moritz were eavesdropping into their conversation. Moritz especially was listening really hard. He was especially listening about his father. Do they have the right to say these kinds of things. They kept listening on. "You are not his mother, Eva. You're always like this when you see someone in trouble. You defend them until you win." Melchior's father was saying this. He was always the logical thinker in the family, unlike everyone else. "Well, when I defend them, it's because I know there's something wrong and it's not hurting himself. It's hurting all the people around them. Just think of parents beating up their child for the smallest mistake. It's not right and it doesn't teach them anything. All it does is scar the child for the rest of their lives, thinking that their parents hate them. Melchior, Moritz dinner." They overheard all of this before they entered the dining room. Melchior was looking at Moritz at worry. They were confused. Had she found out about everything that's happening in his life. Is she acting like he's part of the Gabor family unlike his? All Moritz did was shrugged an "I don't know" with his shoulders. They waited a few minutes before they came in.

They entered the dining room. All they could see was food that looked disgusting and you can see their faces on the inside. They looked really sick just by looking at it. I mean who would want to look at a pig with an apple in its mouth, with red liquid on the top of the pig's back. They sat down on the chairs, said grace, and began eating. With passing the food, Mr. Gabor wanted to talk around the table. "So, Moritz. Melchior says that you're doing well in school. You're doing better than him in trigonometry." Moritz felt embarrassed. He knew that Melchior was lying to his family so they can believe that everything is okay with him and his family, but in terms of recent events, Moritz knew that they wanted to know about the truth about his family. "Well, not really, Mr. Gabor. You see, recently I fa-" his words were interrupted by Melchior hitting him, signaling him to shut his trap. Melchior tried to complete his sentence by saying, "fancied a taste in more than just trigonometry. He was looking into a more of an algebra field. Isn't that right, Moritz?" He played him because he didn't want his parents to know about what really happened with school. Melchior was looking at Moritz trying to get him to agree. Moritz knew the signal and just nodded yes to Melchior's parents. "Algebra, really? Well, you can figure out all the formulas known to man, yet you still can't crack one last one," Mrs. Gabor said. Moritz wanting to find out asked, "Really? What is it?" Melchior hit Moritz's side again telling him to stop because he knew it would be the same conversation again; it's about how his parents met and married. "Well, long time ago, when we were your age, Mr. Gabor and I were da--" Then Melchior interrupted his mother, "Mama, please not the story when you guys were in love. I think Moritz has already heard this story from me at school." Moritz nodded yes again and Mrs. Gabor said, "Really? Okay. Now, eat up children. The food is going to get cold."

All they could focus on was the pig. They looked with absolute disgust that they didn't want to eat it at all, but Moritz being a guest and all, took pieces of the pig, put it on his plate, and ate it. Melchior looked at Moritz eating the pig and just was absolutely disgusted. His friend ate what he thought was a disgrace on what they call food, and yet he smiled and seemed to like it. So Melchior took some pieces of the pig, put it on his plate, and ate it. And when he ate it, he was right. It was atrocious. But, he soon knew what Moritz was doing. He was trying to be courteous and thankful that he was getting fed food. So Melchior said to his mother, "Mama, this is really good." Trying to make her believe that the dinner is actually good, which it wasn't. "Thank you, Melchior," Mrs. Gabor said happily. She totally bought it. Both of them were chuckling under their breath. They continued eating for another hour and it was time to clean up. Melchior and Moritz were assigned to clean the dishes while his father was going to work and his mother was going to the living room and read a good book.

At the kitchen, Moritz and Melchior were washing and cleaning the dishes. Melchior was washing and Moritz was cleaning. "Why must we do this?" Moritz asked. "It's because my parents think it will help me develop discipline." Melchior replied. Utter silence for a few seconds, then they just blurted a laugh at the same time. "Haha, Melchi. It has been a long time since I've ever been happy or ever done anything…well, fun." Melchior was grinning. Finally, Melchior saw the Moritz he was dying to see. The happy, fun Moritz. He examined his new friend and was happy. _It's so good that I get to see my friend so happy like this. I wish that he would be like this all the time. That way, his life would've changed for the better and not for the worse. _Melchior was thinking this. This Moritz, was completely different, but he came to know, that once he goes outside, he has to face consequences so great that he will be at an all-time low. Moritz was cleaning the dishes and the utensils. While doing this, he was thinking about his life. He soon came to realize that part of his life was like Melchior's. He's smart and a great thinker. _This day is going splendid. I can't believe that I helped my best friend. Me! And all this time, I was this person who was scared all the time, and self-conscious all the time. Well, the time has come and now it's a new day. _Moritz was thinking this and positivity came through his mind like a stream never ends. He was actually grinning and laughing. He felt like there was no one to stop him. Except for his father. Then the both of them heard a clanging noise on the floor while they were thinking. Then they suddenly snapped out of their daydreaming and noticed a knife on the floor. Apparently Moritz accidentally dropped one of them when he was cleaning the plates. "I got it." Moritz said. "No, I got it." Melchior politely said. Then suddenly they bend down and try to get the knife when suddenly… (A/N: Warning! This part is very cheesy, but going along.) their hands touch when they try to get the knife. They look at each other, staring at each other's eyes. They never felt this before. All that they knew from it was from books but had never experienced it. But, now they felt like something was going to happen. So Melchior moves slightly toward Moritz, and hesitantly gives a quick kiss on Moritz's lips. After about 12 seconds, they got up, Moritz got the knife, and cleaned the dirt off of it. After that, silence. They continued on washing and cleaning until they were done. What just happened? Both of them were thinking up a storm and thinking all kinds of different things. Melchior was a little bit dumbfounded about what he'd done but there was a feeling of… satisfaction and relief going through his mind. Moritz was shocked, scared, and happy. For once there was someone who loved him for who he is and how he's trying to change his life for the better. But, both of them would come to know about the same thought. It would be that their friendship is going to change. For the better or for the worse? That's what they didn't know. All they were was confused. They were finished with the dishes. They left the kitchen and went to Melchior's room.

They entered Melchior's room, sheer silence. Both of them, eyes opened big, thinking about what had just happened. Melchior blurting out, "I apologize. I didn't know had happened to me." Moritz was being confused. After telling him that was wrong in his life, he's the one trying to say sorry? All Moritz could say was, "its okay" while his voice was cracking up. He saw Melchior's face. He looked all ashamed and scared like it looked like he hurt someone that was his friend. And now right at that moment, Moritz went back to his old way of thinking. _This is my fault. If I didn't write that letter to Melchi… then everything would have been fine. But, now I have corrupted him. What do I do now? I feel like a monster. Hurting my friend like this. _Then for several minutes, his face went from happy to depressed. All back again. "I-I got to leave, Melchi," he said in a hurriedly way. Melchior heard the tone of his voice, he's back. The devil has come back and cursed his friend again with despair and sadness. He tried to stop him, "n-no. Don't." His way of saying this, stopped Moritz in his tracks. He hesitated going back to the bed, where he sat, but then ran out of the room, getting out of the house.

(A/N: Okay this next scene takes place at the same time. So just giving you a heads up.) Mrs. Gabor noticed Moritz going out and said, "Moritz? Where are you going?" Knowing he had to make up a lie said, "I'm going to take a walk. Then I'm going to Otto's house to work on a project." Mrs. Gabor, in another way of believing these lies, said, "Okay. But, make sure that you're back here by morning!" Moritz nodded a yes and then ran off. Melchior, still in his room, was still thinking of what happened in the kitchen. His head was on top of his desk, face down. He sighed then heard Moritz and his mother speaking. He knew that Moritz was going to run away to who knows where with who knows who. Then he heard his friend lying to his mother saying these things. "Lies, mama. Please say don't let him go," Melchior said under his breath. Then he heard the door shut. He noticed Moritz running to an unknown path that he or his friend knew about.

Then, Melchior began to tear up. He was worried about everything bad was going to happen to his friend, and as a spur of the moment things, he went outside his room but was roadblocked to the door by his mother. "Mama. Please, let me go. Moritz forgot something and it's really important." But, Mrs. Gabor didn't believe him. So she said, "If it's important to him, then he'll come back for it. Right now, don't you have your schoolwork to do now?" Melchior, trying to coax her to let him out, "but Mama, he needs th--" Then his mother interrupted his words, "there's a desk waiting for some schoolwork to be done… now," she said in a calm voice. "But-" Melchior said until he was interrupted again by his mother, "I'll let you go outside once you are done with your schoolwork." Then Melchior asked why she allowed Moritz to go and not him. "Because, Melchior, while you were at your room reading, I saw Moritz completing his schoolwork. I even checked when you guys were outside. Now, go to your room." Melchior stormed off in an angry and sad mood. He went to his room, pounding at his desk in a fit of anger. _What did I just do? I have to find Moritz and get him back. Who knows what will happen to him? _He was thinking this while he was trying to finish his homework. He was rushing through everything, checking if the sun was still up. He has a good 2 hours left. Then, he finished. He even showed it to his mother, "Okay," Mrs. Gabor said, "you can go." He got his jacket and ran out of his room, "but come back until nightfall," his mom said. Ignoring all she said, Melchior said an, "okay," just to make her feel okay.

Melchior now out of the house followed the path that Moritz took. He knew that Moritz wasn't a good runner so he knew he would catch up to him before night falls. He eventually was led to a forest that Melchior knew. He usually went here when he would think. He looked down and saw footprints that looked like Moritz's. He followed them until… grass road. (A/N: From what I know, there wasn't a Cubs Scouts back in the year 1896.) but he knew where he was exactly. This was the path that Melchior takes to a big oak tree to look at the sky to relinquish his thoughts. So, he followed his path, and saw a body figure. He ran to the figure, trying to figure out who it is. Then when he got close enough, he said in a tired and exhausted voice, "Moritz?" Then the figure turned around and said in a girlish voice, "Moritz Stiefel?" It was Wendla. Melchior jumped back, surprised that she was here. "Wendla! I didn't know that you go there for thinking now." Wendla giggled. "Well, ever since you showed me. I can't forget it. The way how the clouds look in the sky, the big oak tree shading me, and the lake reflecting a light, it's all mesmerizing, Melchior." His thinking got a little sidetracked. He almost forgot about Moritz. He was now focused on Wendla and her thoughts.

So, they kept thinking about their thoughts until… she told something she was never supposed to tell. It was about her friend Martha, who would get beaten numerous times by her father with a belt buckle. They had a talk about this, until, Wendla saw a switch. "Look at this, Melchior. This switch, long and thin, broken away from the tree, but still as strong." Melchior grabbed the branch, took a swing at it, heard the 'whoosh' noise, and said, "it's strong to draw blood." Then at the moment he said it, Wendla went closer to Melchior and said, "you beat me with it." Melchior, shocked at this, started to argue with her. Wendla says that she's never been beaten and she wanted to know what it feels like for her friend's sake. Still Melchior kept on arguing with her, until she put her hand on his cheek, interrupting Melchior's talking, asking sincerely. Melchior sighed and nervously nodded a yes to her. What was he going to do? He's never hit a girl before. In fact, he's never been beaten by his parents at all. Only by his teachers to think that's he's a smart- aleck. So, Wendla was looking forward, never focusing on her peripheral vision. Melchior gently hit her with the switch, until Wendla told her she didn't feel the hit at all. Then suddenly, she became serious with her voice and demanded Melchior to beat her with the switch harder. Fueled by his anger over everything, Melchior granted Wendla's wish and grabbed her arm and hit her hard with the switch. Every hit he done was out the spite of anger. With Moritz running away, his mother not letting him go when he had the chance to see Moritz again, his schoolwork, and now Wendla yelling at him. Then he let go of the switch and began to shake her violently and beat her with her fists until Wendla was on the ground, crying. Melchior looked at the fallen Wendla feeling shocked, sad, heartbroken, and guilty. He fled the place and ran away from Wendla, crying at the same time. He was going to go back home, forgetting about Moritz and his old worry.

_**A/N: I should really stop with these depressing endings to chapters. Anyways, thanks for reading!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_A/N: Going to be the same warning & credits for the users as I said in the last 2 chapters. Thanks for my friends for helping me!  
_

Melchior was running away from where he saw Wendla. Crying along the way. He realized what he had done. _What did I just do? What was I thinking? I hurt her. I feel like an absolute monster. What the hell happened? I'm tired, but I have to keep on going. My legs won't let me stop. My heart is palpitating 100 beats per second. I feel disgusted with myself. I feel like a rabid beast that got out of the cage, and I couldn't control my anger. God. _He kept on running to who knows where. He didn't care where he was going, all he wanted to know was to get away from Wendla, the Oak tree, and the entire place where he hurt her. He never looked back, only looking forward. With his eyes flooding tears, it was hard for him to see.

It was unfortunate that he accidentally tackled someone while he was running. "Oh," Melchior stopped and said, "I'm sorry." He wiped away his tears and breathed to calm his speaking. The person stood up and said with his back turned at Melchior, "I'm sorry. I didn't know where I was going and I should've just moved away from you." He turned to see the person's face and there, Melchior recognized the man. Moritz. "Moritz? What are you doing here? You have to come back to the house." Moritz sighed and walked to a near tree. His head was touching it and just slid down and said, "Melchi, I can't. Not after what happened. I can't forget it." Melchior really surprised just told his friend, "Moritz, it was just a moment. I mean, I didn't _feel_ a thing, did you?"

Moritz was looking at Melchior, now with some sort of disgust and depression. He looked down at the grass and felt the wind. He had this anger inside him, making him wanting to hit Melchior because he thought he was making fun of him. Another is when everything depressed has happened, he needed a person to be a punching bag for his feelings. Moritz looked up, with anger in his eyes. His hands clenched with a fist. Then, his facial expression expressed anger and frustration. He sprinted toward Melchior, trying to tackle him down. He screamed while he was about to tackle him and then boom! Melchior was on the ground while Moritz was on top of him, saying swears and hitting him in his face and his upper chest. Punch after Punch, Moritz kept on going and Melchior felt the pain. He screamed every time he got hit. That's when, with one punch at his jaw, Melchior was unconscious. Moritz stopped and said, "Melchi?" Shocked to see what happened. It didn't seem real. It felt like Moritz blacked out when he was beating him. "Oh, my God. Please, god no." He checked his heart and his nose to see if he was breathing. Nothing. Now, Moritz was the one that was sobbing. He dragged Melchior to the tree, laid him down with his head on the tree, and went to the lake to get some water. A few minutes passed and Moritz came with his drenched socks with water inside them, he sprinted back to where the unconscious Melchior was and washed his face to get the blood off. _Oh, no. God, please no. I hurt my friend. Possibly murdered him. I'm a murderer! What happened to me? Did I black out? All I know was Melchi said something and I looked at the grass. Then I can't seem to remember anything! Please, Melchi, be alive! _Moritz was thinking this and sobbed. He laid his head on Melchior's chest, sobbing his eyes out. Then a few minutes later, ba-boom, ba-boom. A heartbeat. Moritz heard this, checked under his nose to confirm he's alive. He was. Now, tears of joy came into his eyes. Then Melchior's eyes opened and just said softly, "Moritz?" Then, with a smile, was Moritz, still wiping the blood off Melchior's face. Then with tears coming from both of them, they hugged and cried. Both of them were feeling guilt and sadness. "I'm sorry, Melchi. I didn't mean to hurt you…" Moritz tried to speak. "It's fine, Moritz old pal. I'm going to be fine."

* * *

They were walking back to Melchior's home. Moritz was helping Melchior walking, by grabbing his shoulder. Melchior felt dizzy when he was unconscious. He fell down a couple times, but Moritz helped him get up and start walking again. Along the way, they were talking, but Melchior didn't want to talk about him beating and hurting Wendla. Moritz was apologetic saying sorry every 10 minutes. "Moritz, its fine. I'm alive, aren't I? If you're asking me, then I should be the one apologizing to you. I'm sorry if I offended you for anything." Moritz feeling okay said, "that's fine." But Melchior tried to remember what happened before he got hurt. He tried to go on and continue the conversation but then stopped thinking that his friend actually felt something going on. Then he realized he broke his heart and remembered that Moritz was a fragile person and he didn't like it when his feelings get hurt. "Moritz, I'm sorry if I offended you or anything in particular." Moritz, trying to forget what happened, didn't look at Melchior and looked forward instead said a soft, "It's fine." Now, he was dizzy, but he knew that his friend didn't really say that from his heart. From past experiences, Melchior knew that every word that he said, wrote, or drew, came from his heart. "Moritz, look at me," he grabbed his cheekbones and made his head turn. "If you're going to say it, then say it to my face," Melchior said talking to him. Moritz let go of his shoulder, and just walked ahead of his friend. He didn't want to see him cry, but every time he looks at his face, he can see where the bruises are going to come in a few hours from now. He felt that if he looked at him, he was a murderer. He walked ahead of him. Melchior stopped and said, "You've changed, Moritz. What the fuck happened that made you this goddamn hateful and depressed?"

Then Moritz stopped abruptly and turned and still looked down on the grass, approaching Melchior, and tried to stand up for himself. "You want to know why? I'll tell you!" You can tell that both of them were angry. Melchior for Moritz not changing himself to be optimistic and turn his life for the better and Moritz, being tired around of being the victim of everything that was wrong. "Every day, I hear the same shit I hear from everyone. My father yelling at me, calling me a failure and beating me. School, when people think I'm a weirdo, then when I go home, feeling alone and all." Then, Moritz's tone of voice changed. He went on, "Unlike you. You're the best in everything. I hear from everyone, 'Melchior is great, Melchior did better, Moritz, why can't you be like Melchior and do something smart for a change!'" He yelled his last sentence. Melchior was looking shocked, eyes opened, his jaw opened even though his mouth was closed. "Everything in my life is all around you. You can clearly see that they want to know more about you than they want to know about me. You're like a statue, waiting to be carved and I'm just a rock in a stray path. Just…" Moritz was on the brink of tears. "Just, why do you have to be so great in everything? I'm nothing unless you're there." Moritz was still looking down, and Melchior approached him and grabbed his jaw saying, "If you got all that to say, then why won't you look me," Moritz was eye-to-eye to Melchior, "when you're saying this?" Then Melchior saw Moritz's face. His face looked like he was scared and fearful. "What's wrong?" Melchior asked sincerely, "what's happened?" Moritz's eyes were filled with tears. He was sobbing again. Melchior realized what had happened. Moritz felt like every time he would see his face, it would be like seeing a corpse of a best friend and he killed that person. He knew was Moritz was feeling. Melchior snapped out of his dizziness and let go of Moritz.

He cried and ran, going away from the Gabor house. "Moritz!" Melchior yelled. He tried chasing him to get him back home. Moritz was tired, still crying, and really fatigued. He stopped his running and tried to breath. His vision really was blurry. Then he blacked out and fainted on the grass road. Melchior, who was trying to get him, noticed the now, unconscious Moritz. He ran toward him and tried to wake his friend up. He sat down trying to get him to open his eyes. "Moritz. Oh, god. Moritz. Wake up," he was slapping his friend cheeks to see if he was awake. _Shit. What happened? I made my friend hate me. First Wendla, now this? This can't be happening._ Melchior was panicking, since he tried everything to wake him up. As a last effort, Melchior carried Moritz's body all the way to his house to have a doctor check on him. He gripped his arms and his legs and lifted him. Moritz was light, compared to Melchior. It was nearly a close mile to his house, so he carried him, trying to wake him up or talking to him. "Moritz, wake up." Or a, "we're close. Hold on." Then Melchior said to Moritz while he was still unconscious, "Moritz, please wake up. You're a great friend and you're a great listener. We've been through a lot of tough times, but I knew that you had my back and you had mine. Since we were 5, it seemed like it was destined for us to be friends. I don't know what I would do if something bad happened." He looked at him while saying this, crying. He did this to get easily distracted and so he would walk faster and get home quicker.

* * *

After about 10 minutes, he was out of the forest and shouted, "Mama!" Mrs. Gabor quickly reacted and came out the door as fast as possible. She noticed Melchior's bruised face and Moritz unconscious. "What happened? Oh, my lord, Moritz! We have to get him inside." Melchior carried him until he entered the house and laid him on a sofa. Mrs. Gabor went to a neighbor's house, whose husband was a doctor and told him that one of his son's friends, fainted and is unconscious. At the house, Melchior was tired, but stayed with Moritz. "Don't worry, Moritz. The doctor is going to come with my mama anytime." He was rubbing his friend's arm, crying like it was his fault. Mrs. Gabor and the doctor came in. "Melchior!" He looked back and saw his mother and the doctor. "My god," the doctor said approaching Moritz. He was examining Moritz, "Malnutrition, scars, newly formed bruises, a fever. Sweat all over his body." Melchior was hearing this from the doctor. His eyes wide open, he was about to cry again. Thinking that Moritz had died by a fever. "Go into the kitchen, Melchior. Clean yourself off. Me and the doctor will tell you what's happening with Moritz." Melchior wanted to stay in the living room. "But, mama. Moritz is my fri-" Mrs. Gabor, being a parent and all said, "go to the kitchen now. We'll take care of things now. Now go." Even though he didn't want to go to the kitchen, he went. He went inside and sat on a chair by the table, head down, and cried. _Moritz Stiefel. Died of a fever. No, this can't be. He can't die. God, this is my fault. I felt like a monster before with Wendla, now I am a scary beast. No one can stop me. God please, don't let my best friend die. He can't. He's got his life ahead of him. Foolish father. I feel like I've been more of family to him than anyone in the Stiefel family. What did I do to make everything that happened today, happen? Wendla with the switch, Moritz dying in my arms. _He went toward the sink and washed himself off. Then, he noticed a knife. Sharp, shiny, and pointy. Definitely strong enough to kill somebody. He wanted to do it. He felt like there was nothing he can do to change what happened today. He grabbed the handle of the knife. He wanted to do it but then suddenly he stopped before he stabbed himself. He dropped the knife and went into some sort of fetal position. He just broke down emotionally. Then he put it back in the sink. Melchior realized what he had done and he washed himself off. Almost, killing himself for what has happened in 1 day. He swore that it would be the last time he would do that. He went to a corner, put his head on the wall and cried his eyes out. His mother came in and said, "Melchior?" He turned back hearing the voice. He ran toward his mother asking, "Mama. Is he okay? Did the doctor say he's going to be alive?" You can hear the panic in his voice. His mother was talking about Moritz and you can see the sadness in Melchior's face.

_A/N: I'm done for now. Cliffhanger!_


End file.
